


The Angels Among Us

by Rakshi



Category: Lord of the Rings RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-04
Updated: 2011-12-04
Packaged: 2017-10-26 21:59:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/288355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rakshi/pseuds/Rakshi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Elijah's birthday and Sean doesn't know what to get him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Angels Among Us

Sean stood staring into the storefront window, his face a complete blank. He had been shopping for Elijah’s birthday present for hours and had found nothing… nothing… that seemed in any way suitable. Even here on Rodeo Drive, home to some of the most elegant stores on earth, absolutely nothing seemed appropriate.

“Jesus!” Sean muttered. “He has everything anyone could ever want. What the hell can I give him?” Once again he stared at the storefront window. Various mannequins stood before him spectacularly arrayed in the very latest in high fashion ensembles. Jeans, shirts, shoes, jackets… all carrying easily recognizable names such as Gucci and Prada. Another window featured stunning designer jewelry… sunglasses… watches… rings. And even in the midst of all these expensive, luxurious gifts, he could see nothing that seemed fitting. Nothing that touched his heart with the thrill that told him instinctively ‘this is right’.

This could not be just an ordinary gift. And to Sean, the items he had viewed today, for all their expense and supposed glamour, were ordinary. Ordinary, at least, in comparison to the person to whom they would be given. He wanted this gift to reflect something much deeper… more meaningful… than what was reflected in anything one could simply ‘buy’ with money.

Elijah for all his undeniable external beauty, possessed an inner beauty which, to Sean, was even more potent and compelling. He wanted his gift to reflect his belief in that beauty, and his love for it. What I want won’t come from a store, Sean decided. But I’ll know it when I see it. I’ll know it in my heart.

Sighing, feeling at a total loss, he turned and walked the few blocks to the parking garage where he’d left his car. As he entered, he almost tripped over an elderly gentleman who stood unobtrusively against the side of the building. The man winced when Sean bumped him and seemed to shrink timidly against the structure. Reaching out to offer support, Sean became aware of the coolness of the night air and the paper-thin shabbiness of the old man’s coat. “Please excuse me, sir,” Sean said gently. For a moment their eyes met, and as the old man nodded Sean sensed a great welling loneliness in his gaze. Then Sean lowered his eyes and moved away.

Chewing at his lip, Sean continued toward his car moving slower and slower with every step he took. Then, deeply troubled, he suddenly stopped, turned, and stared back at the elderly gentleman. As if feeling his gaze, the old man nodded his head and smiled. And after a moment, feeling a thrill touch his heart… Sean smiled back.

A few days later…

“Happy Birthday, baby” Sean said, handing Elijah a card. As he took it, Sean leaned forward to kiss his cheek.

“What’s this?” Elijah asked.

“Open it.”

The front of the card said only: “The angels among us.”

Elijah opened it and read: “Angels walk among us, unseen… unnoticed. But by their acts the world is made a better, kinder place for all who dwell here.” He glanced up at Sean, clearly confused.

“I didn’t know what to get you for your birthday,” Sean said in a low voice. “Then I thought about you. About your spirit. About the inner glow that radiates from you and touches everyone around you. About your kindness and generosity. About how loving and gentle you are.”

“Sean,” Elijah drawled, laughing softly. “Stop. I’m sure the fuck not that nice! No one is! You know what a selfish jerk I can be at times. You know better than anyone.”

“We have a date tonight, you and I,” Sean said with a smile, ignoring Elijah’s protest.

“A date?”

“Yes. A date.” Sean’s arms reached to enfold Elijah, pulling him close. For a moment Sean buried his face against Elijah’s neck, inhaling deeply to catch the scent of his skin, then he lifted his head and kissed Elijah with a deep and lingering tenderness.

“You’ve been an angel in my life, Elijah,” he murmured at last. “You’ve given me so much. You’ve taught me love and acceptance. You’ve loved me even when I couldn’t love myself. I needed to give you something special for your birthday.”

Elijah took a deep breath, and then spoke softly. “Sean, you need to know that you’ve already given me something incredibly special.”

“Well, tonight you get something even more special, birthday boy,” Sean said, nuzzling Elijah’s cheek. “Tonight we are going on a date with an elderly gentleman who is waiting for us in front of a store on Rodeo.”

“Who is he?” Elijah asked with a slow grin. “What have you cooked up, Astin?”

“His name is Albert Spencer Riley,” Sean said quietly. “He lives at a homeless shelter in Hollywood. That is…he lives there when they have room for him.”

Elijah’s mouth fell open in seemingly astonished bewilderment.

“Tonight you and I are taking him out to dinner,” Sean whispered. “Then we’re buying him a warm new coat because the one he has is terribly old and worn out.” Embarrassed, he lowered his head and pressed his forehead to Elijah’s shoulder, praying Elijah understood why he was doing this… praying Elijah didn’t find it sappy or foolish.

There was a moment of complete silence and Sean’s anxiety grew even stronger. Then he glanced up, and saw with tremendous relief that Elijah’s sapphire eyes were glowing with unshed tears. “Jesus, Seanie,” Elijah whispered in a choked voice. “Jesus, I don’t know what to say.”

“I wanted to get you something that said – that said –,” Sean shook his head, totally at a loss. “Oh hell, I don’t know what I wanted it to say!”

Elijah lifted his hand to cradle Sean’s face. “That said ‘I love you’, maybe?” he asked softly.

“More than ‘I love you’,” Sean told him. “I wanted it to tell you what I feel about you in ways that go beyond ‘love’. I wanted to tell you how much you’ve given me. How much I respect and admire you. And how beautiful I think you are inside!”

“Seanie,” Elijah murmured, his arms winding around Sean’s neck. “It’s the best gift anyone has ever given me.” He pressed his face against Sean’s shoulder. “I don’t deserve it.”

“But you do!” Sean insisted. “That’s just it! You do!”

Elijah’s head shook slowly in denial, but Sean wouldn’t allow it.

“Listen, Elijah! When I saw that old guy, the first thought that flashed into my mind was how you’d respond to bumping into a rather frightened, elderly gentleman who was obviously down on his luck. I know you’d want to do something kind for him. Something to make his life just a little better. I know you would!” He touched Elijah’s face, tilting it up until he was looking into Elijah’s eyes. “You always do!”

“Sean,” Elijah murmured. “You’re the one who made this happen.”

“No. You did. That’s the wonder of it all,” Sean said thickly as his own tears welled up. “I almost walked away. Then it hit me… that you’d never walk away. And I went back to talk to him… to invite him to join us tonight.”

Suddenly he clutched Elijah close in his arms. “Don’t you see, baby, you did this! You’re a light that shines out in an uncertain world. You made me a better person! You make everyone around you a better person.” He gently carded his fingers through Elijah’s hair and whispered: “Isn’t that what angels do?”

“We’re angels?” Elijah asked him with a smile.

Sean bent and kissed him tenderly. “We get to show one rather sad elderly gentleman that there really are angels in the world and that tonight he’s going to have dinner with one of them.”

“Two of them,” Elijah replied, his arms tightening again around Sean’s neck.

For a long moment they stood together, holding each other as though they would never… could never… let go. Then Elijah stirred in Sean’s arms. “If it’s all right with you,” he said, smiling, “your ‘angel’ would like to take off his halo once we get home and be a bit of a ‘devil’ in bed tonight with his lover. Can you cope with that?”

“I’ll cope just fine. In fact, your lover would be completely in favor of that transformation,” Sean said, laughing.

“Then we’d better go. Our date is waiting.” He took Sean’s arm and hugged it tight against him. “Thank you doesn’t begin to say it, Sean… but it’s all I’ve got. Thank you for a wonderful birthday gift. And for everything that goes with it. For all that you said to me in this one gesture.” He took a deep, tremulous breath, and then whispered: “I’ll never forget it.”

“And thank you for being my light in a uncertain world. Happy birthday, Elijah. I love you very much.”


End file.
